Transparent materials that are used for ballistic protection (armor) include (1) conventional glasses, for example, soda lime and borosilicate glass which are typically manufactured using the float process; (2) crystalline materials such as aluminum oxy-nitride (ALON), spinel, and sapphire; and (3) glass-ceramic materials (“GC”). In the last category, a transparent lithium disilicate GC from Alstom, known as TransArm, has been studied by several groups. Due to its superior weight efficiency against ball rounds and small fragments, TransArm has the potential to increase performance of protective devices such as face shield; studies of the shock behavior of these materials have shown that the GC has a high post-failure strength compared to that of amorphous glasses. See GB 2 284 655 A; PCT International Patent Publication WO 03/022767 A1; and J. C. F. Millett, N. K. Bourne, and I. M. Pickup, The behaviour of a SiO2-Li2O glass ceramic during one-dimensional shock loading, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 38, 3530-3536 (2005). Other prior art includes (1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,553 and (2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,640 which describe, respectively, (1) armor material based on glass-ceramic bonded to an energy-absorbing, fiber-containing backing layer, and (2) fire- and impact-resistant transparent laminates comprising parallel sheets of glass-ceramic and polymer, with intended use for security or armor glass capable of withstanding high heat and direct flames. Additional patent or patent application art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,371 titled Glass Matrix Armor (describing a soda-lime glass matrix with particles of ceramic dispersed throughout, the ceramic not being grown in situ in the glass) and U.S. Patent Application US 2005/0119104 A1 (2005) titled Protection From Kinetic Threats Using Glass-Ceramic Material (describing an opaque armor based on anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) glass-ceramics).